7 Shocking Facts You Never Knew About Violence Against Children

The world is a dangerous place for children. Right now, a child somewhere is being trafficked into slavery. A young girl is being raped. A toddler is slowly starving to death. Unicef has released a new report that shows that every five minutes a child dies as the result of violence. It doesn't have to be this way, but until we act, children will remain in danger. We take a look at 7 shocking facts you never knew about violence against children.

1. Violence often begins at home

For many, violence begins early and begins in the home. One in six children worldwide are subjected to the most severe forms of corporal punishment. In South Africa, one third of child murders occur at home. In the UK, more than 17,000 children taken into care after suffering abuse or neglect in 2013.

2. Schools are not always safe places

Despite education being vital to every child’s future, children are often in danger at the very place that should be dedicated to their safety and learning - their school. In Tanzania and Uganda, more than half of children who are physically or sexually abused are abused by their teachers.

3. As they grow up, children face increased danger outside the home

Violence, abuse and neglect often force children to live away from their immediate family and they are no safer on the streets. In Latin America and the Caribbean, where adolescents face the heaviest burden from violence, nearly a third of all murders are estimated to be gang or crime related.

4. Violent conflict destroys young lives

Violent conflict has a devastating impact on children, with millions of children living in communities that are directly affected by conflict. In Syria, over 10,000 children have been killed in the conflict – on average 10 every day.

5. Violence against children often remains hidden

Many children are too frightened to tell anyone what has happened to them or have no-one whom they think it is safe to turn to. In the UK, a quarter of young people have been subjected to some form of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday. In the US, nearly a quarter of adolescent girls and one in ten adolescent boys reported at least one incident of sexual abuse, assault or harassment within the previous 12 months.

6. Children are frequently denied justice

The UN has called for all countries to impose a comprehensive and explicit legal ban on violence against children, but so far only 41 countries have taken up this call.

7. Violence leads to inequality

Children living in poverty are most likely to be victims of violence, wherever they live in the world. Research from the US suggests that a survivor of violence in childhood is 60 percent more likely to be living in poverty than a neighbour who was not victimised.

No child should live in danger. We must do everything possible until every child is safe. Now is the time to act.

Read Unicef UK's new Children in Danger report with a foreword from Baroness Doreen Lawrence

Add your name to our Children in Danger campaign and help end violence against children for good